We were very pleased to grant a second minor award to Townsend C of E school early in the season, this one for a STEM subject.
Anna Berry, Assistant Headteacher and Head of Maths, has long been a fan of Matt Parker, an inspirational "Stand-up Mathematician" who appears on the BBC, YouTube and on stage and has written in The Guardian. Anna researched his work and found he is part of a group called Think Maths who give presentations and run workshops in schools. As they say on their website:
Our sessions are interactive, engaging and cover mathematical content which will grab the attention of students and inspire them to get excited about maths. We show students the wider world of maths beyond school while giving them a chance to develop invaluable mathematical thinking skills. Our aim is to inspire students to be more motivated in normal lessons.
Think Maths offer several workshops and we are very pleased to fund their "Mathematical Magic" event in Townsend School. As Anna explained in her application, Townsend is in a relatively deprived area of a wealthy city and many of their pupils would have difficulty funding a trip to a maths event. By bringing Think Maths to the school, groups from each year can have their eyes opened to the "beauty, complexity and applications of maths" at no cost to them.